NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A bill working through a committee would allow New Mexicans to get beer shipped directly to their homes. House Bill 343 would allow brewers to get the same shipping licenses that are currently being used by wineries.
Currently, under New Mexican law, consumers can have wine shipped to their homes from licensed distributors. However, beer is not yet available for home shipping. Through this bill, beer deliveries would require the signature of an individual over the age of 21 – the same way wine is currently delivered.
However, one representative had concerns about the access to alcohol this could provide to minors. They say, “one of the key things to reducing alcohol use in our state is we’re not to let underage have access. And we shouldn’t have approved what was going through for the wineries to have them delivered because a lot of times they are just dropped off and the delivery person does not check an ID but just leaves it there.”
The bill would also allow out-of-state breweries to participate in festivals and competitions in New Mexico. Despite the pushback, the bill passed the committee three votes to two.
